Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Respeckful
"Can anyone tell me what year Captain America was made?" There was a pause and not a single response. "1942!" The woman giving the tour was doing her best. It couldn't be easy, relaying the tale of America's Greatest Soldier (tm) to a bunch of five-year-olds for what was probably the 800th time since the exhibit opened up in the museum.
Though, Nadia had to admit the phrase 'was made' was certainly a choice.
"That was so long ago!" A little girl gasped as if she had any real grasp on time. "Miss Nadia, was that when you were made?" She asked. Nadia quirked an eyebrow and exchanged a smile with the tour guide.
"Pretty close to it, yeah." She confirmed with a nod. The little girl's eyes widened and she whispered something to the girl beside her. The two had declared the week before that they were the best friends ever, so making them partners on the trip had made the most sense, each of the kids had a buddy and they weren't allowed to go anywhere without that buddy. Nadia wasn't sure why, it wasn't any easier to find two missing preschoolers than it was one, but she'd heard the kindergarten teacher talking about it, so buddies it was.
"And over here we have-" The tour guide continued, leading the kids further into the exhibit. The parent chaperones followed closely, Nadia was at the rear, keeping an eye on all 14 little people she'd been left in charge of. She let her mind wander as she glanced around at the different bits and pieces, one of the vehicles they had taken to get out from behind enemy lines. A whole line of mannequins in the sparkly outfits from the tour to sell war bonds.
It truly was a fascinating place and in any other circumstances, Nadia would have happily fully studied every piece they had, but she was busy keeping sticky child fingers from touching every bit of glass in the room.
"Miss Nadia, I want a dress like that!" One of the little girls announced, pointing at the mannequins.
"Maybe your parents will get you something like that for Halloween." Nadia offered, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder as the child stared longingly at the sparkly little costume. She was pretty sure in the gift shop they had cheap replicas. But Nadia was smart enough and had been doing this long enough to know they were not going to be going anywhere near even a sign that said gift shop. Only a couple of the kids were reading, but all she needed was a class full of meltdowns as they all wanted to go to the gift shop and buy commemorative Captain America shield coins with money she was sure they did not have.
She was still ruminating on how that many little coins could absolutely destroy her budget when the recorded voice started up. The one that regularly played through the overhead speakers.
'A symbol to the nation, a hero to the world, the story of Captain America is one of honor, bravery and sacrifice.' Nadia held in a scoff. The tour guide stopped them in front of a display of pictures of Cap himself, before the serum and him after. The difference was truly astounding. She had to admit that. 'Denied enlistment due to poor health, Steven Rogers was chosen for a program unique in the annals of American warfare. One that would transform him into the world’s first super soldier'
"First." She muttered. One of the boys was excitedly comparing his own size to that of Rogers's and yeah, the preschooler was actually pretty close in size to the fully grown Steve.
"Miss Nadia! I wanna be a super soldier." the boy announced. Nadia's throat constricted but she gave him an encouraging nod. She'd brought up the exhibit at the Smithsonian off-handedly in front of the principal and he had gone off about what a great idea it was to bring the kids here. But as she saw these young impressionable children taking this in, their little eyes wide and excited she realized maybe this wasn't the best idea in the world.
Indoctrination started early; She knew that for sure.
'Battle-tested, Captain America and his Howling Commandos quickly earned their stripes, their mission, taking down Hydra, the Nazi rogue science division.'
Next was the display with the outfits from the Commandos. Captain America was at the front and mannequins fanned out on either side of him.
"Die Hydra!" One of the boys shouted, punching the air. Nadia gave a forced laugh and placed a hand on his head.
"Calm down, Jason, remember what we said about the museum?" She asked, squatting down to his level. "We have to be..." She prompted.
"Respeckful." He quoted, almost.
"That's it. And do you think shouting like that is very respeckful?" Nadia asked.
He looked thoughtful then shook his head in the negative.
"Then let's not do that." She stood up and moved him closer to his field trip buddy, doing another quick head count. All fourteen were there and they were moving on to the next display.
'Best friends since childhood Bucky Barnes and Steven Rogers were inseparable on both schoolyard and battlefield. Barnes is the only Howling Commando to give his life in service of his country.' Nadia stopped, mesmerized by the memorial
The memorial, she realized, for James Buchanan Barnes. ‘Bucky’, the epitaph said, was what he preferred to be called. Nadia stepped closer to the display, narrowing her eyes and leaning in, taking in every detail she could. The serious eyes, the jawline, The memorial seemed to capture him perfectly.
She read over the obituary, about who he was, what he had done. He was a hero? She stepped back and shook her head, memories flooding her brain. Screams, the buzz of barely contained electricity, a metal hand the size of her head shooting out of the darkness-
"Miss Nadia?" A small voice pulled her out of her head and she whirled, putting on the preschool teacher's smile.
"Yes?"
"I gotta go potty." The little boy informed her, looking up at her with the biggest brown eyes in the world.
"Of course, let's go."
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Nadia could not wait to get out of work. She enjoyed her job but wrangling that many preschoolers all day left her exhausted in ways she hadn't expected. She'd been leaving the school when she got the text-
"Drinks?"
Of course she texted Sam back to let him know she was definitely interested and then a quick run home to shower and change. Elementary school teacher chic didn't lend itself well to a night out at the bar, even if it was just a simple local joint with country music and a karaoke machine that was older than she was, it was still definitely something she wanted to change for.
Nadia needed her showers hot. Her childhood had been riddled with cold showers, hard water that just couldn't seem to hold heat. Showers moved fast when the threat of hypothermia was real. So by the time she even stepped under the spray of the water, a layer of steam covered her mirror, the window, and the glass doors of the shower. She took her time, knowing she had a good amount of it before Sam would be ready to go. She lathered up her pear scented shampoo, letting the crisp scent drain away the stress from the day.
By the time she finished her shower, got her light blonde hair dried and up in a high ponytail and changed into tight black pants, a dark red tank top and a cropped black leather jacket, it was time to meet Sam.
Off to the VA where she knew the man in question would be wrapping up his work. He ran a meeting for Veterans that were struggling with getting back into civilian life after their deployment. She'd never sat in on a meeting, obviously, it wasn't for her, but what he could tell her about it- not much- her heart ached for them.
She pulled into the parking lot and got out, heading into the building. She said a cheery hello to a few people who were milling about by the door and she headed down the hall. The sound of her boot heels against the linoleum floors echoing through the corridor.
She'd been moving into her house when she met Sam Wilson. He lived next door and he'd come out to help her with a bag she struggled to get out of her car, then helped her with the other bags, and the massive box of records. He had picked his favorite from that collection and they'd blasted it through the house as he helped her to fully unpack.
He'd turned what she was sure would take her all day into something that took a couple of hours and all he asked for in return was dinner.
At first the two of them danced around the possibility of dating but after that first dinner she found herself a great friend. Someone she could call on when she needed him and she hoped, in return, she was that for him. She did know that he had called her to talk on more than one occasion, usually really late at night.
She was a serial insomniac, and he had nightmares that still woke him up at night. It worked for them. She was up anyway and he found that calling and talking to her helped. He never talked to her about what happened in his nightmares, he said that was for his therapist, but they talked about life, about what they were watching.
"There she is." She grinned when the man in question appeared. She quickly crossed the hall to meet him, hugging him. "So I'm going to have to bow out a little early." He warned.
"That's fine, we'll just drive our own cars and meet up." She shrugged and reached up to tighten her ponytail. She glanced behind him at the retreating form of the person he'd been talking to before. "Who was that?" She asked.
"Oh, that's a new attendee to the meetings. Getting used to civilian life is- hard." He simplified it because the time it would take to properly explain the stress and mental pressure of re-acclimating wasn't there.
"I'm sure." Nadia agreed. "Let's go get drinks. I can tell you all about my adventures at the Smithsonian."
"Oh I can't wait." Sam broke into a wide grin and walked with her out of the VA and to their cars.
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"Oh that mother is definitely going to write a 'strongly worded letter' to the museum. How dare you inspire my daughter to become a showgirl?" Nadia laughed at Sam's declaration, shaking her head.
"No, the angriest parent is probably going to be the one who's son snuck away and got the actual piss scared out of him by the T-rex in an entirely different exhibit. Preschoolers are so small, he slipped away and into the other room and-" Nadia buried her face in her hands. "It was only a few minutes but- thank god his parent packed him an extra set of clothes." She held her hands up and shook her head. "It wasn't even a full T-rex, it was just the bones. So anyway I'm screening Jurassic Park for the kids next week." There was a roll of laughter and she picked up her beer, clinking the neck of it against someone else's with a grin.
Hooties was their favorite place to meet for drinks. It was reasonably priced and the vibes were good. An old country song played through the ancient speakers up in the corners of the room. There was a space cleared for a dance floor but it really was only used on the weekends. Today it was empty unless someone cut through on the way back to their tables with a fresh beer.
This was their relaxation routine, show up to Hooties, shoot the breeze with the regulars, have a beer or two and just- enjoy being around people who didn't expect anything. Sam loved telling the even older veterans his stories and they shared back. And they all loved hearing Nadia's horror stories as a preschool teachers. The regulars all had kids or grandkids or in Sam's case, his little nephews so they reveled in hearing about other people's kids misbehaving. Their greatest joy was to bring up The Great Chocolate Milk Fiasco, only to be brought to tears of laughter every time Nadia confirmed the stain on the floor, was in fact still there.
Sam finished off his beer, tipping his head back to get the last dregs then stood.
"I'm going to head out, I'm supposed to call my sister tonight." He picked up his one empty bottle and placed a hand on Nadia's shoulder. "You good to get home?" He asked. She held up her beer, also her only one of the night and nodded.
"I'm good, dad." She confirmed,
"I'll see you tomorrow, kid." He playfully bopped the back of her head and walked towards the door. "Oh, next time, I think I might invite someone new. They're pretty exciting." he informed the group all surrounding the table.
"Oh yeah? How exciting?" Harold asked. Harold was roughly the same age as Jesus, his hair long gone and a mustache as white as the foam head on the top of a good beer.
"You'll just have to wait and see." Sam teased, turning to face forward and walking out the door.
"Who do you think it is?" The others started to speculate, some throwing out the idea that it could be his sister, or Captain America himself.
"Maybe he got himself a girlfriend." Nadia teased. The group laughed and the conversation moved on to sports- some baseball game that was happening the next day that a few of them wanted to make it to.
A few hours had passed before Nadia decided to call it a night, gathering the empty bottles from around the table for the guys, all of whom were breaking off in groups with a designated driver to get them home. She dropped the empty bottles at the bar then went back for the cups for the few people who preferred their beer not in the bottle.
"Thanks, Jones." Tucker the bartender took them off her hands and hid them back behind the bar.
"No problem, toss me a rag and I can wipe the table down." She offered.
"Nah, it's fine, that's what I pay Tiffany to do." The woman in question, Tucker's wife, made a face at Tucker behind his back. Nadia grinned and winked.
"Alright, then I'm out." She slid a tip onto the bar and hopped down from the stool, going to the door.
It was dark out, the parking lot had lights but they didn't seem to be doing much in this level of dark. Nadia started to dig through her purse, hunting for her keys, silently berating herself for not getting them out before she’d walked out into the lot. There was a light pole near the edge of the parking lot that was going out- the light in it flickering off and on wildly. She glanced up as her fingers finally closed around her keys. A shadowy figure stood by the treeline, a big hulking figure, long-ish hair blowing in the wind.
The keys fell from her grasp, hitting the concrete with a harsh clang. She scrambled to grab them, cursing internally when she had to look away from the figure to find the rogue keys and when she looked up- the figure was gone. She rushed to pluck her car key from the set and pressed the unlock button on the FOB a dozen times, getting in, locking the door and peeling out of the lot in less than half a minute.
She'd be taking the long way home tonight for her own peace of mind, her heart racing so fast the threat of it beating out of her ribcage was real. A glance in her rearview mirror told her there was no one there. The figure had truly vanished.
If it had been there at all.